Reports indicate that multiple Greek-owned tankers waiting to load at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in the Black Sea were struck by drones. Each of the incidents appears to have only caused minor damage, but it comes as another blow to the key terminal operation that Ukraine has targeted for handling Russian crude.
CPC's marine terminal is located on Russia's Black Sea coast, and is connected by a cross-border pipeline to Kazakh production centers. It is critical to Kazakh oil operations and handles as much as 80 percent of the country's oil exports, including production from American-operated fields. A small portion of its volume comes from Russian fields, and several Russian oil companies hold stakes in the pipeline itself.
The Energy Ministry of Kazakhstan issued a statement acknowledging attacks on two vessels, the Matilda - operating under charter to the national company KazMunayGas, and Delta Tankers’ Delta Harmony. Media reports said other tankers were also targeted, including another Greek-owned tanker named Freud, but those reports were not confirmed.
No immediate statement of responsibility was issued, but the reports highlight that the terminal operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium near Russia’s Novorossiysk port has been a frequent target of Ukraine. Unlike the other tankers recently stuck in the Black Sea attacks, the four vessels identified today are not sanctioned tankers and not part of the shadow fleet. They are all managed by well-known, established Greek companies, but several of them have been linked to frequent trips to the Russian oil terminals.
Thenamakis, which operates the Matilda, a 112,935 dwt tanker registered in Malta, told Reuters the ship was hit by two drones while it was empty with only ballast waiting some 30 miles off the CPC terminal. The company said there was minor damage to deck structures, which would be fully repairable.
Delta Tanker's vessel Delta Harmony, 157,410 dwt, registered in Liberia, was reported to have been struck. Reports are saying a small fire broke out on the Delta Harmony but was quickly extinguished. The ship was believed to have been in ballast waiting for a connection to load.
The latest reports said the Freud, 157,485 dwt managed by TMS Tankers had also been struck. Built in 2018, this tanker is registered in the Marshall Islands. Reports said all the tankers were moving away from the terminal after the attacks.
The CPC facility has three connection points, but one is believed to be down for maintenance and another was damaged in a November attack acknowledged by Ukraine. Bloomberg reports that the terminal, which normally handles up to 1.7 million barrels a day of crude, is currently limited to approximately 800,000 to 900,000 barrels a day.
Ukraine has increased its efforts to strike at Russia’s oil trade to choke off the revenues, which it says finance the war. Today’s strikes on the tankers came as Ukraine has reported an escalation of attacks by Russia in the new year. Last night, Russia is reported to have launched nearly 300 drones and fired 18 missiles, causing heavy damage in Kyiv and Kharkiv. Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been the target of the increased attacks, with many reports of power and heating outages during the cold winter months.
Ukraine last week reported that Russia struck two ships near the Odesa port complex, killing one seafarer and injuring another. Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, reported today, January 13, on Telegram that Russia struck two more vessels, including a Panama-flagged tanker waiting to load vegetable oil. One seafarer was reported injured, and he said there was a fire on the vessel. The other ship, a San Marino-flagged bulker, was leaving the port with a cargo of corn. Kuleba said there were no injuries and that the vessel continued its voyage.
